Syracuse University was founded as a co-educational institution in 1870. Centrally located in the Onondaga Valley, an area rich in Native American history, Syracuse, New York, had become a large Read more

The earliest meetings were held on Friday afternoons and illness was the only accepted excuse for absence. Each meeting included literary exercises and members read their original essays or news Read more

Their organization solidified, the ladies went about the business of establishing the more public symbols of their alliance. There are multiple versions of how Gamma Phi Beta’s badge was created Read more

By the fall of 1875, Flora Crane had been initiated. For this tiny cluster of ladies, competing with Alpha Phi during rush (now recruitment) seemed a daunting task but when they received word Read more

1880

During the 1880s – later characterized as being a high point of the Second Industrial Revolution and the Gilded Age – Americans experienced exceptional industrial development and economic growth. Railroads Read more

When the two delegates from Alpha returned to Syracuse, Jessie Decker (Syracuse, 1878) hosted a party to announce and celebrate Beta’s Installation. Upon reading the announcement in the newspaper, Professor Read more

As provided by the constitutional revisions, the second Convention was held at Beta Chapter in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on November 15, 1884. Alpha Chapter sent three delegates. The password, presented Read more

History buffs delving into Gamma Phi Beta’s own annals will find themselves confused over the numbering of the Sorority’s Conventions. The eighth annual Convention was held November 13-15, 1890, at Read more

In 1890 there were seven national sororities on campuses across the country, each with several chapters. Seven out of every 10 colleges admitted women but they remained an overwhelming minority, Read more

Undaunted by the rejection of their 1902 recommendations, the Intersorority Conference continued meeting annually. Gamma Phi Beta President Lillian Thompson (Michigan, 1892) was their first delegate to the Conference. During Read more

1910

The attempts at progress that characterized the turn of the century continued through the 1910s. Women’s suffrage, birth control, education and prohibition were controversial topics of the decade. The National Read more

A contest was put into motion for the 1915 Convention to select a crest for Gamma Phi Beta. Several designs were submitted for the competition and Gertrude Comfort Morrow (California-Berkeley, Read more

But American soldiers weren’t the only ones who needed help. German-occupied Belgium and northern France found their food supplies requisitioned to feed the German army. Many faced imminent starvation. Shortly Read more

The Women’s Suffrage Movement, started in the mid-1800s, finally saw its work come to fruition. Though several versions of suffrage legislation were brought before Congress beginning in 1915, they were Read more

1920

On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was finally ratified and women earned the right to vote. The 18th Amendment, ratified in 1919 to outlaw alcohol, began causing unprecedented law-violations Read more

Gamma Phi Beta’s 33rd Convention, hosted by Lambda Chapter (University of Washington) and Seattle Alumnae Chapter, was held at Lake Crescent in the shadow of the Olympic Mountains. The delegates Read more

Without struggle, the Gamma Phis did, indeed, pay homage to the remaining Founders at the 34th Convention the following year, postponed until 1924 to coincide with the Sorority’s 50th anniversary. Read more

There was, of course, some business conducted at the 1924 Convention, including the approval of a National Endowment Board. “In 1919,” Lindsey Barbee (Denver, 1897) wrote, “the Endowment Fund was Read more

The Lake Placid Convention also saw the approval of Margaret Meany Younger’s (University of Washington, 1910) plan to divide the Sorority into Provinces, each with a supervisor for the chapters Read more

Bolstered by the enthusiastic response she witnessed during the 1921 Convention, Kittie Lee Clarke (Denver, 1908) led Denver alumnae in organizing a summer camp for underprivileged children in the mountains Read more

While we tend to picture the earliest members in their bustled dresses and corseted waistlines, physical training was required for every undergraduate student at Syracuse on the premise that robust Read more

Finally, Lillian Thompson’s (Michigan, 1892) dream was realized when the Convention body voted to create a new permanent home for the Sorority’s Central Office in the Pittsfield Building in downtown Read more

Though the relatively prosperous families of Gamma Phi Beta members were far removed from the travesties of bread lines and soup kitchens, few Americans remained untouched by the Depression. Some Read more

Convention delegates and visitors assembled at Birchmont Beach Hotel in Bemidji, Minnesota, in June 1931 for Gamma Phi Beta’s 37th Convention. Two hundred and seventy-five women, fewer than usual for Read more

Greek organizations across the board once again came under fire during the trying years of the Great Depression. The New York Times published a series of articles criticizing fraternities and Read more

The December 11, 1939, issue of LIFE Magazine featured members of Sigma Chapter (Kansas). The pictorial, entitled “Kansas Girls: Life is Fun for Them at State University,” followed the day-to-day Read more

Beginning in 1942, Leadership Training Schools, forerunner to the current REAL Leadership Institute (RLI), were held biennially during off-Convention years for alumnae advisors and volunteers. In 1943, the traveling secretary Read more

1950

During the 1950s, Americans enjoyed a period of post-war peace and prosperity that sent young adults flocking to the suburbs and witnessed women enrolling in universities in unprecedented numbers. The Read more

Several noteworthy actions were taken at Convention 1950. One ruled that housemothers could not be initiated into the Sorority while under its employment; another added a new officer, Chairman of Read more

Societies that had a member on the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) Executive Committee were allowed another delegate and thus Beatrice Locke Hogan (Oregon, 1912) entered the NPC as a special Read more

The Greenbrier Hotel, where Beatrice Locke Hogan (Oregon, 1912) was named National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) chairman, was also the site of Gamma Phi Beta’s 47th Convention held July 2-7, 1956. Read more

Legislation enacted at Victoria at the 48th Convention established an important new fund, the Gamma Phi Beta Foundation, “a trust organized solely for the promotion and encouragement of educational and Read more

1960

During the turbulent decade known simply as “The Sixties,” America underwent societal changes like no other time in the nation’s history. The decade started when America’s youngest elected president and Read more

In the spring of 1965, Gamma Phi Beta’s crest or coat-of-arms took on a new look. Originally created by Gertrude Comfort Morrow (California-Berkeley, 1910), her design for the crest was chosen Read more

Colonial Williamsburg was the setting for the 39th meeting of the National Panhellenic Conference in October 1965. Against this historical background, delegates grappled with the challenges they faced from radical Read more

Gamma Phi Beta’s 52nd Convention was held in the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas, June 19-24, 1966. Eighty-two Greek-letter chapters and 78 alumnae chapters were represented with a total Read more

In 1968, “Ideally Speaking,” a standards book researched, written and edited by Ritajean Hartung Butterworth (University of Washington), was added to the pledge education program in 1968. An incredibly comprehensive Read more

More than 500 Gamma Phi Betas attended the 53rd International Convention at the Huntington-Sheraton Hotel in Pasadena, California, held June 23-29, 1968. Cloris Leachman (Northwestern) and Hope Summers (Northwestern, 1920) Read more

A new guide for pledges, “A Lifetime Experience Begins Here,” written by Barbara Burns Hiscock (University of Washington, 1939), was published in 1971. Designed to help chapters develop the highest Read more

Collegiate chapters received some help through the Graduate Counselor Program, established in 1973. If a chapter was in need of guidance, a young alumnae accepted into that school’s graduate program Read more

Gamma Phi Beta’s chief objective to develop the highest type of womanhood through education, social enrichment, ritual, personal growth and service to country and humanity served them well throughout the Read more

1980

The turmoil that characterized the late 1960s and early 1970s was finally dying down. President Ronald Reagan’s election portended a return to more traditional values and First Lady Nancy Reagan Read more

American campuses began returning to traditional social and extracurricular activities as colleges and universities realized that their most loyal alumni were members of fraternities and sororities. Between 1982 and 1984, Read more

In 1982, Chapter Development was replaced by Personal and Chapter Enrichment (PACE) to provide chapter programming, public relations, problem-solving skills and education beyond the classroom for both collegians and alumnae. Read more

On April 26, 1992, International President Jolene ‘Joey’ Lessard Stiver (North Dakota State), served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the dedication of the new International Headquarters at 12737 East Euclid Drive Read more

More than 700 Gamma Phi Beta sisters convened in Washington, D.C., for the Sorority’s 70th Convention held June 26-29, 2002, at the splendid Crystal Gateway Marriot. Still feeling the emotional Read more

On October 26, 2002, the plaza at the entrance to the International Headquarters, nicknamed Sisterhood Plaza, was dedicated. The project was launched in 1998 and funds were raised through individual Read more

In keeping with the strategic plan’s goal to raise Gamma Phi Beta’s public profile, International Council, several volunteers and International Headquarters staff worked together for two years to update the Read more

At the 2008 Convention, Gamma Phi Beta announced their new collaborative relationship with Girl Guides of Canada (GGC), an organization devoted to providing girls with opportunities for personal development that Read more

2010

At Convention 2010, held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, a new organizational plan for alumnae groups was presented. The task force’s recommendations were intended to make Read more

Two more new programs were launched toward the end of 2010: Rock Solid Relationships and Gamma Phi Beta’s signature Safety & Wellness program (these programs are now called REAL Relationships Read more

Gamma Phi Beta officially entered the world of cyber communication in 2010, establishing its own social networking sites including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. While some of the sites such as Read more

The vision statement was also revised into a powerful statement of intent expressing the leadership’s anticipated vision of the Sorority’s future. “We will build confident women of character who celebrate Read more

According to the National Panhellenic Conference, sorority growth had been on the rise for the past four academic years, with undergraduate membership increasing by slightly more than 15 percent between Read more

Education Vice President Becky Boyd-Obarski (Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) announced the Sorority’s newest philanthropic partner — Girls on the Run, an organization established in 1996 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and dedicated Read more

Additionally at Convention 2012, it was announced that Gamma Phi Beta’s new philanthropic focus would be Building Strong Girls. The Building Strong Girls philanthropic umbrella was created to counteract the Read more